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| This week's issue of THE CAT'S MEOW celebrates our rebirth! The Easter season continues, being celebrated a week later in the Orthodox churches.
Spring is upon us, too...flowers bloom, and animal babies are born. We, too, are changing...growing, learning, and becoming more of what the Creator has ordained us to be! Our website, too, continues to change and grow.... Why not visit us and see what's new?
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People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. "The more comfortable I am in my own skin, the less I feel the need to prove anything to anybody." Giving Reprinted from Inspiring Quotes |
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Nature's Bliss! <It is an incredible time to be alive. Opportunities to stretch and grow now come to us as easy as our next breath. We are being catapulted into the 5th dimension whether we are ready or not. I've been told many times that my life is a gift from God and that what I do with my life is my gift back to Her. My gift is an awakened life of Love and Service however much I falter in its delivery. My latest intention is to find beauty in All things. I know it's there but I don't always see it. How can I find beauty in war, for example. That seems a most preposterous idea doesn't it? War is about death and destruction. It is about force. What could possibly be beautiful about it? The beauty of this war is that it just may be the vehicle through which humanity has finally had enough. If we are lucky, this war may be enough to bring us to our knees and end our suffering. It just might wake us all up. And that is beautiful. The beauty of this war is that awakened people throughout the world recognize that the source of the conflict lives within them and they are committed to transmuting every dark aspect of war within their being so they may be the peace they wish to see. Every individual doing this work has an incredible effect on counterbalancing the negative energies on the planet. That, my friends, is beautiful. The beauty of this war is that it is flushing to the surface every bit of dark energy on this jewel called Planet Earth so we can restore her to her full glory and create Heaven on Earth. I can see the beauty of that. The most helpful action any of us can take is to expand and raise our individual consciousness. By moving our energy higher, we can entrain others who are ready but not able to access higher states of consciousness without the help of their brothers and sisters. I commit myself to the beauty of that. ***************************** Reprinted from Awakenings |
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Inspiration Line is
a FREE weekly e-mail magazine for people seeking encouragement and
fresh perspectives. Our intent is to inspire through motivational
articles, poems and
uplifting quotes, while balancing the equation with lighthearted
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interesting news and helpful tips on relationship skills, pet care,
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Come and listen to my story And sometimes just like in a dream, Come and hear of scenes so grand, And how at dusk the sun do set, Come and listen. by J. Dalrymple From the time the world was created, Reprinted from Mountain Wings |
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Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary School. At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy irritated his teacher. One day, she called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation. As the Forresters sat quietly in the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five-year gap between his age and that of the other students!" Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read or write. Why waste any more time trying? As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. "Oh God," she said aloud, "here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared with that poor family! Please help me to be more patient with Jeremy." From that day on, she tried to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed loudly enough for the whole class to hear. The other children snickered, and Doris's face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-Why, that's very nice, Jeremy. Now please take your seat." Spring came, and the chidden talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them of the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller!" the children responded enthusiastically - all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them. That evening, Doris's kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents. The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their Math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arms. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up, "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes that is new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. "My Daddy helped me!" he beamed. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "but Jeremy - your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!" Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up!" The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away. Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty. Copyright Ida Mae Kemple |
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Come walk with me just one more mile Before you call it quits Forget about the broken dreams Now broken into bits. Put one more foot out, forward Another, right in step Just keep your eyes locked to the front We are not finished yet. Keep your mind on the road ahead Not what you left behind If you can just keep on moving Wherever this road winds. You might find a few surprises Might even make you smile You might even see life clearer While walking for a while. You might even find some pieces You missed along the way Or some new ones that are better To use another day. So another mile together No need to go alone Just continue with your journey Your quest is not yet done. Adriaan Reprinted from Ms. Kitty's InsPURRational Mews |
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| The Gifts That She Gave To Me She came right up to me out of nowhere, this little Black girl with the biggest brightest smile I had ever seen. "Hi my name is Dee, glad to meet you, and always remember God loves you." This was my very first meeting with a wonderful self confident joyful 8-year-old who was to become a lifelong friend. I have to admit that in the early days I did feel somewhat superior, after all I was older than her. I was 9 years old and in the next level in Sunday school class and the next grade at school. The friends that I hung out with were older and far more mature. Heck, I don't know if I even believed that back then but it sounded good anyhow. Nevertheless, because of the age difference, we really only saw each other every Sunday at communal gatherings before we each parted for our designated Sunday school class. Never once during those years at Welcome Hall Mission did I ever see a frown, or hear a bad word come from Dee. She was the happiest person I had ever met. Being poor and living in the ghetto, believe me it was difficult to find true happiness yet Dee managed to find it every single day of her life! With high school, came new challenges for me and of course since Dee was in fact younger she was sort of left behind. I did keep in touch though through a mutual friend, named LaVern. LaVern and I talked over the phone, and since she was a close friend of Dee at the time she would let me know how she was doing. Still later, both Dee and I had married and divorced and both of us came back home to the ghetto community that we were raised in. It was here really that we resumed our friendship. Dee was living with her mother at the time. La Vern told me that Dee was the community's champion scrabble player. No one who played her could beat her. I had played a few games of scrabble myself and decided to give her a try. True to form Dee beat me each and every time. She was a champion scrabble player and had won in international tournaments. But never once would she pass up an opportunity to play a game even with an amateur like me! The first gift that Dee had ever given me was her intoxicating personality and the second was the love of scrabble. Later, Dee moved into her own apartment again once her personal life stabilized. It was during the early days of our reunion, that I had the opportunity to date a man that I had previously gone to school with. He ended up moving into our ghetto community and we met one night while walking along the street. We discovered that since our school days we had both married and divorced. That meeting had sparked a mutual interest in dating and getting to know each other once again. However, I was faced with a moral dilemma. I had found out through La Vern that this man was in fact Dee's ex-husband. I was not sure if I could date him under the circumstances. La Vern did not see a problem but the situation still nagged at me so I decided to consult Dee about it. True to form Dee wished me the best of luck and told me if it made me happy go for it. The third gift that she gave me was to consider my own needs and wants whereas before I had always put the needs of others before me. Often times I would talk about Dee to yet another friend, May who also lived in our ghetto community. May prided herself on knowing all the residents of the community but could not quite place Dee. However, one day after a physical description was given, May said " I know that lady, one day when I struggling home with bags of groceries this taxi stopped and this black woman with the biggest smile asked me if I needed a lift home, I am now convinced that was Dee!". From this act of kindness, the fourth gift that she gave me was the gift of charity. The years progressed and we were truly solid friends. We played scrabble all weekend long and did all the things that friends do. Dee is a successful writer. She is a historian and an authority on Blacks in our city. She watched me struggle on welfare raising my son alone as a single parent until she could not take it anymore. One day she sat me down and said to me "When are you going to the university and get yourself a degree, frankly you are just wasting yourself". Well I was not open to the suggestion, I had a 1001 and excuses, mostly valid I have to admit. I was having problems with my teenage son and life was very overwhelming for me at the time. Consequently it was not the time in my life to go back to school so I thought. I was already 37 years old. But Dorothy tackled each and every excuse one by one and eventually wore down my resistance. I agreed to go to university if as I put it she would "hold my hand". She agreed. She mentored me for a full academic year. She edited my papers and basically taught me how to write. She provided support and guidance until one day she stopped dead in her tracks and told me straight out "you don't need me anymore its time for you fly". It was frustrating, it was challenging, it was exhilarating but I did it! I graduated from my university cum laudem (graduated with honours) and I went on to obtain a masters degree in counseling psychology. While in univesity, I had taken the teaching skills that I had learned from her and mentored a few students myself along the way. Furthermore, challenging each and every one of them to be the best they could be just as she had done for me. She gave me the gift of friendship, she gave me the gift of believing in myself, she gave me the gift of writing, and the gift of teaching. But the biggest gift of all that she gave me was in deed the gift of herself. Carol Roach 2003 Carol is a featured writer for Starfish and loves to write, play scrabble, play with her pets and most of all she loves God and people. She also publishes her work right here as well. She is a grandmother of a bright seven year old going on 25. If you would like to read her stories you can email her at storytime123@hotmail. or email her with any comments you may have. She loves to hear from everyone. Reprinted from Insprational Angels |
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| Try to find your "quiet center" every day. In the morning upon
rising, ( if you have to get up earlier to avoid the morning rush, do
it ), find a spot, ( outside if possible ), where you can sit quietly and
commune with Nature; listen to the morning sounds with a cup of
your favorite relaxing beverage.
It doesn't have to be hours; 15 minutes of quiet realization will do
wonders for the rest of your day and put you in tune with the path
your life should be taking.
Reprinted from The Ezine Writer 2 |
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Copyright 2006 - Jane Cate All Rights Reserved Webmaster: Jane Cate - JC@online-thecatsmeow.com This newsletter is hosted by Bright-byte. |
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